Munitions Empire-Chapter 645 - : 604 Environmental Duo

Chapter 645: 604 Environmental Duo

“Theoretically, if we breach from the stern, the likelihood of a hit is the highest,” said the lead pilot, pointing at a model warship on the table to all the surrounding pilots.

“The enemy ship might change course,” a young pilot mused as he looked over the model warship on the table, simulating the entire attack process in his mind. The other pilots didn’t speak; they were also curious about this issue.

All these pilots had been carefully selected from the Air Force, each having independently completed at least ten bombing missions, with extensive experience flying Stuka dive bombers.

The one who asked the question was a youth from Brunas, who had already flown 40 bombing missions in a Stuka dive bomber, with confirmed combat results that included 20 machine gun bunkers, 15 artillery positions, and 5 anti-aircraft fire points.

He was only 20 years old, still very young, and what surprised Tang Mo the most was that the youth’s name happened to be Rüdeler, which seemed like a bonus for someone with dive bomber experience.

...

As a dive bomber pilot, this young man named Rüdeler was very talented, with a third-class Thunder Medal pinned to his chest.

With the full-scale outbreak of war between Tang Country and Qi Country, Tang Country’s system of military medals became more systematic: infantry, paratroopers, and marine corps could receive the Blade Medal; naval warship personnel could receive the Wave Medal; Air Force pilots could receive the Thunder Medal, and Armored Troops could receive the Cavalry Medal.

Secondary Air Force units, including anti-aircraft gun units, could receive the Aegis Medal; secondary Army units, including artillery, could receive the Earthfire Medal; and Navy submarine personnel could receive the Abyss Medal.

In this manner, each branch of the armed forces had three types of medals available to them, each medal with three levels.

Having a third-class Thunder Medal meant that Rüdeler was already an excellent pilot. His question was naturally taken seriously by the instructor.

The instructor explained, “The enemy’s warships are actually not fast, so their course changes can be easily predicted.”

As he spoke, he changed the position of the ship model, making a turning motion. In his other hand, he held a model of an airplane, simulating a diving movement.

“We can adjust our diving angle following their movements; it’s easy for us, being faster,” he said while simulating the entire process of a Stuka dive: “You just need to be careful when pulling up! That’s all.”

Indeed, nearly all the warships in the world, including those of Great Tang’s own Navy, had no anti-aircraft firepower.

All the guns on the warships lacked the angle to fire into the air, and there were also no aiming devices for anti-aircraft use.

For warships, the threat of aircraft had never materialized, so the only thing on a warship that could potentially aim at a Stuka was the Maxim machine gun.

Real anti-aircraft guns had not yet appeared! So, these warships became quite vulnerable once within the attacking range of airplanes.

“So, the angle of approach is something we can decide at will! Without strong counter-firepower from the enemy, we won’t face any obstacles when entering from the rear,” continued the instructor.

“Then, as they are relatively stationary to us, we just need to use our past experience to drop bombs and attack,” he concluded, then lifted his head, “Any more questions?”

“No more!” All the pilots shook their heads.

“The Navy has deliberately brought in three freewheelers to simulate enemy ships, and all personnel should intensify real combat training to prepare for the expulsion of the enemy’s warships,” commanded the instructor loudly.

“Yes!” All the pilots immediately stood at attention and saluted.

…

At the airport’s ammunition depot, ground support staff were busy equipping 250 kg and 500 kg aerial bombs with delay fuses.

Previously prepared impact fuses for attacking ground targets were obviously not as effective against ships, so the Great Tang Group had worked overtime to urgently produce this batch specifically for use against warships.

These fuses had been transported from Tongcheng, along with some newly produced aerial bombs.

The airport near Linshui was now fully operational, and even to the south of this military airport, a civilian airport had been built as well.

Tang Mo of course understood that the significance of airplanes was not limited to warfare; their advent completely revolutionized human transport.

Air transport shortened travel times for humans to being measured in hours, allowing the crossing of thousands of kilometers in just a few hours.

Since then, the concept of a global village has truly emerged, with the time saved being beyond calculation.

A few hours saved by one person could accelerate humanity by decades! Things that used to take three months to deliver can now be delivered in just a few hours, what does that mean?

In fact, Tang Mo was feeling a bit of regret now, regretting that he had not developed torpedoes earlier in order to maintain his naval superiority.

Previously, his torpedo development had been closely following his submarine development progress, but now it seemed to be a bit late.

If he had aerial torpedoes now, his planes’ capabilities to chase away enemy warships would be greatly enhanced.

During the time when the enemy didn’t have anti-aircraft guns, the destructive effect of torpedo bombers would be obviously stronger than that of dive bombers.

Tang Mo felt quite frustrated, thinking he shouldn’t be concerned about the issue of technological leaks, because Mathews told him a few days ago that if Shireck wanted to replicate torpedoes, technical breakthroughs would have to be made in at least seventy-some major areas.

This was basically impossible, so Shireck simply couldn’t replicate submarines or weapons like torpedoes.

If it were just about making an experimental iron barrel capable of submerging, Shireck might be able to accomplish that. However, dreaming of creating a submarine capable of attacking Great Tang’s fleet in the open sea was indeed a fool’s dream.

But the fact was that the die had been cast, and no matter how much Tang Mo regretted it, he couldn’t make his subordinates magically produce torpedo planes and aerial torpedoes out of thin air.

Thus, aerial bombs became the only available weapon against warships. As for coastal guns, Tang Mo found them the most contemptible playthings.

He thought that these huge cannons, consuming a vast amount of steel and serving little purpose, were a complete waste of his time and resources.

Despite various countries still massively producing and equipping their fortresses with such guns or similar weapons, Tang Mo didn’t arm his troops with even one of them.

He was keen on producing 155mm and 105mm caliber guns, giving these artillery pieces excellent mobility, but had little fondness for heavy artillery of calibers above 200mm.

He knew that some specific targets still required large-caliber cannons for destruction. Making some heavy artillery could be useful, yet he still had no such plans.

He seemed a bit stubborn in this regard, believing that those solid defense structures could be completely taken care of by bombers.

This stubbornness stemmed from his memories of a past life: in the world he was familiar with, large-caliber artillery seemed to have been phased out by the mainstream countries.

Lighthouse Country and the bunnies were keen on using guided artillery shells and precision missiles to deal with problems, and their artillery commonly only employed 155mm caliber guns.

However, because of the torpedo issue, Tang Mo realized that his grasp on the future direction of weaponry might have some problems.

He wouldn’t be able to come up with precision-guided weapons in the short term, so it seemed he really did need some large caliber guns as a transition.

If he waited until the troops urgently needed them to start production, it might indeed be too late. As a weapons merchant, Tang Mo naturally hoped to provide every soldier with the best equipment.

But now, also serving as a king, he had to consider whether providing the entire army with the most advanced weapons was cost-effective. Sometimes he also admitted that even Lighthouse Country, with all its wealth, couldn’t afford to supply each soldier with an ample quantity of missiles.

In fact, another reason for not equipping the troops with large-caliber artillery was poverty! Tang Mo needed more tanks, more planes, more warships, so concessions had to be made when it came to heavy artillery.

Issuing his troops with Beretta 92F pistols was for a similar reason: the pistol was easy to produce and inexpensive, with nothing special required in terms of materials. Compared to the M1911 pistol, it seemed much more suitable for mass production and equipping the troops.

The choice of 7.62x39mm bullets was the same: although its performance was not outstanding, this type of bullet was easy and cheap to produce, with no technical difficulty involved.

A C-47 transport plane slowly landed at the civilian airport’s runway. As the cargo door opened, two men were the first to emerge from the plane, descending the steps.

The two were the only employees of the Great Tang Group’s environmental improvement project department, and their purpose for this trip was to investigate the industrial waste water discharge issue in Linshui.

An important reason for their visit was the fishery department’s report of reduced fish catches: this could potentially lead to a food shortage crisis.

If it wasn’t for concerns about food issues, they wouldn’t have disturbed these two employees who were in charge of environmental protection. After all, in this world, the basic concept of environmental protection did not even exist.

“The air here is much better than in Tongcheng,” the young assistant sniffed twice and said with a look of enjoyment.

As the group’s only environmental authority, the middle-aged man confirmed what his assistant said. However, he clearly didn’t think this was the factories’ doing: “Well, it’s by the coast, after all.”

“So what do we do now?” the assistant asked curiously.

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“Let’s check the seafood market; perhaps the situation there is similar to that near Dragon Harbor,” said the middle-aged man with some worry. “If it is, we’ll need to write a report for His Majesty the King.”

——–

There have been many family matters these past two days, and Dragon Spirit has been in poor shape, finding it hard to even maintain updates. I am not satisfied with my own writing, so please forgive me! Today will still be two updates; the catch-up will be delayed by one day… Let’s see what my condition is like tomorrow.